A job interview is an important component of the hiring process in an organization. The main purpose of conducting a job interview is to understand what the candidate can do for the company, assess whether his/her qualifications and career ambitions align with the position and figure out if both parties benefit from the hire.
Therefore, analyzing the conversation during the interview thoroughly is important to choose the right candidate for the organization. The best way to scrutinize an interview is by transcribing it into an interview transcript. Interview transcription refers to the process of converting the interview into an accurate text format. A reliable interview transcript allows you to return to it time and again to make sure that you have an accurate record of the information you need to choose the right candidate.
Today, a job interview is not just a face-to-face meeting, it could be a phone call interview or a video interview too. Interviews over the phone or via a videoconference are useful if the candidate is able to travel only after being offered the job, or if he or she is willing to perform the assigned duties remotely.
Transcribing these interviews provide accurate records of everything that was discussed during the interview. You can utilize a good business transcription service to obtain error-free interview transcripts, which help businesses in the following ways in the recruitment process.
- Gather all vital details: When important points are jotted down manually during an interview, you are likely to miss vital points and it is difficult to recall all missed information after the interview. But by recording the interview and transcribing it, all key points are converted into accurate interview transcripts that can be reviewed later at your convenience. This also allows the interviewer to focus more on the interview instead of writing down notes and getting distracted.
- Allows others to access the interview notes: The recruitment process involves different sets of people at every stage. So, transcribing the interview into a transcript allows you to email copies to all people involved in the hiring process.
- Saves time: The hiring process can be very daunting, but with interview transcription, you can have any time access to all important information about the candidate. This helps the recruiting panel to go through every detail about the interaction and hire the right person as quickly as possible.
- Proper documentation of the interview: Transcripts of the interview can be considered as a reference that allows the interviewer to have a detailed examination of the events of the entire interaction. Having transcripts also helps the HR department to look at the choice of words the candidate has used while interacting and analyze them to find out their suitability. The interviewer can better understand the interaction, and pick the best fit for the organization.
- Look for any discrepancies in the candidate’s resume: Most of the time, employers ask candidates to recount their skills just to check whether the applicant’s answers match with the information provided on their resumes. Sometimes there may be deviations or differences between the answers they give verbally and the answers listed in the resume. But with an accurate interview transcript, it becomes easier for HR managers to check the answers and find out if there are any discrepancies.
- Streamline the interview process: Having an accurate transcript of the job interview is an opportunity for HR managers also to reflect on the questions that they had asked. It helps to find out which questions are important, and which ones can be replaced or eliminated.
- No need for a second or third round of the interview: Accurate transcription of job interviews helps to avoid the need for conducting a second or third round of the interview. The others in the interview panel can examine the transcripts thoroughly and make a final decision about who should be appointed. Similarly, if there is more than one potential candidate, then the transcript of each candidate’s interview can be scrutinized and cross-referred to appoint the right candidate.
- Makes video interviews easy: Remote working has now become very popular since the breakout of the pandemic. So, in such cases, video interviews can be conducted for recruitment. These video interviews can be transcribed so that it becomes easier for HR managers to go through each transcript and make a decision.
Earlier, when hiring new recruits, interviewers or ascribe would jot down the important points discussed during the interview. However, this process is a challenge because it could lead to the loss of vital data or responses from the interviewee.
The easier process is to have the interview recorded and transcribed at a later stage so that a perusal of the transcript brings up everything discussed between the interviewers and the candidates. Preparation of a good interview transcript demands patience, listening skills, and careful editing and proofreading skills on the part of the transcriptionist.
The best alternative today is transcribing the interview with the help of a business transcription company. You can get error-free transcripts that help the hiring managers in the recruitment process and also save time. The benefits provided by interview transcription are many, as seen from the above discussion. Accurate transcripts help to make any interview assessment process easy for the hiring personnel in an organization.
Businesses choosing to utilize the services of digital transcription agencies must understand the different transcription formats as well as the different naming conventions they need to identify the format that is best for their organization. Also, businesses can think about the right, constructive use of interview transcripts which will ensure successful forward movement.
